Hearing Roxie’s own passion for the project fired her determination.They were on this; it was happening, and she wasn’t the only one at the helm.When she went back to California, they’d have transcontinental cover.Next, it would be the world.
“It’s true that what I do is more hands on,” Freya said, “as much as it can be.I take what I do seriously.”
“What is that exactly?”she asked, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to have some background.“Are you a doctor?A therapist?”
“No.No.Nothing like that.In my work, I fund a scheme that helps families pay medical bills.Their children’s medical bills.”
“It’s more than that,” Roxie said.“You spoil them.”
“It could be the way I was brought up, but spoiling means something different to me.I enjoy what I do and enjoy spending time with the kids and their families.It has to be about more than money.Too many arrogant wealthy types toss a billion dollars at something and call it philanthropy.”
“Freya gets to know the families she helps.She goes to their homes, cooks for them, spends time with them.”
“It’s important,” Freya said.“Caring isn’t paying money.It’s paying attention.”
“I like that,” she said, picking up her cup.“We should put that on bumper stickers.”
When Freya smiled, the open sincerity poured from her.“The problem is, it’s not something that can be taught.It can be faked, but not taught.”
“Not the way you do it,” Roxie said.
“How do you know Reid?”
Freya and Roxie made eye contact.“How do I know Reid?”the former asked.
Okay, what was she missing?“Roxie said that Reid and Merci—sorry, I thought you were friends.”
Roxie laughed.“They’re more than that.Freya used to date K2.”
“K2,” Freya said, enjoying the moniker.“I haven’t heard Loch called by that name in a while.”
“The man’s a mountain.”
Freya nodded.“True.”
“And he’s the second K in the group.Kintyre and Kinloch were too much for them to wrap their prepubescent and adolescent brains around.So K2 he is.”Roxie leaned a little her way.“They were childhood sweethearts.Freya and K2.”
“Until his family figured out I wouldn’t be the model daughter-in-law.”After a brief pause, the altruist shook her head.“It wasn’t like that when we were young, our families were close, but there’s five years between us.I guess you could say we grew up together in a lot of ways.”
“Both of their families are loaded.They were sort of betrothed.”
“We weren’t betrothed.That sounds so… archaic.”
“I’ve never met him,” she said.“I’ve heard he’s not the most personable.”
“His family put a lot of pressure on him.His parents brought two multibillion multinational companies together, and he’s an only child.The only chance they had to maintain their empire.It messed with his head.And he never quite knows who to trust.Who had his best interests at heart?”
“That’s why he loved you,” Roxie said.“You were you, unapologetically.That’s what Z says.”
“I understood the pressure.Not to the same degree, but my grandfather needed a crutch after we lost my dad, and I was it.Our families just dealt with their situations differently.His mom was most supportive of him being him.Some say her encouragement of his talents and interests outside the company broke up his parents’ marriage.Something else that put pressure on him.He’s a man who belongs everywhere and nowhere.”
“Did he mean you?Is this what Rourke meant when he told me I could use K2’s name and he wouldn’t care?Did he mean I could use it with you and you’d help us?”
“Loch, K2, cares about things in a different way.One thing he never cared about was status.Still doesn’t, even now.Sycophants circle.Everyone wants to be his friend, to know him, to be connected to him.It exhausts him.He couldn’t care less about reputation or who’s who.”
“Is that why he’s selling?To get away from the brownnosers and the pressure?”Roxie asked.“The guys know it didn’t mean the same to him, but to give it all away…”
“You only live once.I used to tell him that always.Life can be taken any second and when you’re alone, you need to love whatever you have left.Life has to be real or there’s no point living it at all.”
